You may have seen an update from Summerhall Management Ltd confirming that it has been presented with a winding up petition by HMRC. The company plans to appeal this decision but its operations will be impacted while this legal action is underway.
News of this development emerged just two days before we were due to launch Push the Boat Out, Edinburgh’s International Poetry Festival, which has 130 artists booked to appear as part of 54 events from 22-24 November This had an immediate impact on our ability to sell tickets though Summerhall, while also raising questions about the venue. We took the difficult decision to delay announcing the programme and putting tickets on sale while we establish more clarity and investigate potential solutions.
As a small charity, this is a hugely challenging development and we are deeply concerned about what it means for our festival, the artists involved, our partners and audiences. We are working hard to ensure that the festival can go ahead, either at Summerhall or in an alternative venue and will share our plans as soon as possible.
Please direct any enquirers to press@pushtheboatout.org